Update [2005-7-4 15:2:5 by Steven D]: His last voicemail is Here. Go listen to it for all the details of what happened to him.
(Front paged at Daily Kos)
For those of you who have read the diaries I’ve posted her about Leonard Clark, a soldier in the Arizona National Guard stationed in Iraq, or have read his emails posted at his blog this is a Very Bad Day. Leonard has been called in to his Commander’s office and threatened with court martial unless he stops posting his thoughts and opinions about the war in Iraq and President Bush. In addition he is being forced to take down his comments on his blog at the “request of his ranking officer.” In short, on Independence Day, he is being censored, and his rights taken away.
This is sad news to have to pass on to those of us who have read his words and admired his courage, but he will no longer be permitted to post emails at his blog.
His last email after the break:
Happy 4th
Well, happy days are here again! Our great Attorney General Gonzales flew into the Ultra Safe Green Zone and gave a speech at the embassy. You remember our Attorney General, the one who a chief counsel to the President, said it was quite alright to use certain torture methods that might get by the Geneva Convention, Washboarding, beating, etc. It’s all there, folks, and our great maniac executive strongly supports him. I’m reading the Stars and Stripes and I’ll feel so much more comforted when I’m standing up in the turret of my Humvee or driving it because of these very comforting words by our A.G. : “As we approach the Fourth of July weekend, I suspect there’s some of you that are here that sometimes feel lonely and you sometimes wonder whether you are not alone, ” and I’m here to tell you that you are not alone, that the American people are very much with you.”–Stars and Stripes, 7-4-05.
Oh, I can rest peacfully when the next bomb goes off because the man who approved torture by the United States of America and deeply shamed this nation has told me I am not alone. Well, he’s right about one thing I know I’m not alone – whether it’s the spooks or agents that are monitoring me or my journals or those of you out there reading these words I am certainly not alone. I know that many of those Iraqi people who wish to kill me and my fellow soldiers and are constantly waiting for their oppurtunity are making sure my fellow soldiers and I are not alone.
Well, I just wanted to thank the brave A.G. for flying into the Green Zone and having to endanger himself behind all of his heavy security just so he could tell me I’m not alone. My heart is truly warmed.
Now, fellow activists, let us keep up the non-violent fight against the terrorists and the tryants at home who are needlessly endangering my fellow soldiers and causing many of them to die needless deaths in this lie we call the Occupation of Iraq. We need to let the three-piece-suited politicians and their crooked lackeys know that we’re mad as hell and we’re not going to take it anymore! Immediately, fellow activist (even if you have to do it on your own, although working through one of the organizations linked to this site might also be the best way) find out how you local city, state, and federal politicians stand on the occupation of Iraq. If they stand for the lie or are just too afraid to do the right moral thing by standing against this horrible occupation of Iraq, then quickly find somebody who is running against them. If there is nobody running against, find somebody to run against them. Boycott any companies that are profiting off of the blood of my fellow American soldiers. And let us not forget our governors, congressmen and senators (especially Democratic ones) – ask them or their representatives where they stand on a timetable, and if they will not give you an answer then by all means find someone who can take their places who will support a timetable.
I’m damn tired of my Democratic leadership in Washington D.C. that refuses to publicly call for an immediate timetable for a withdrawal from Iraq. To those Democratic and Republican leaders who have done so I apologize in advance for the questions you are going to start receiving from your constituents on this issue, but you can no longer sit on the fence – our American soldiers are dying needless deaths over here and dammit, you’ve got to take a stand or we’ll vote somebody else in your place!
Not One More American Soldier Should Die Over Here in this Lie We Call the Occupation of Iraq!
N.O. M.A.S. !
Written by Leonard Clark (the damn liberal who patrols the mean streets of Iraq everyday)
and Kindergarten teacher in the public schools of America
Candidate for the U.S. Senate against John Kyl in Arizona
Please go to his blog and post a comment. I also sugegst we copy each of his emails before they are removed.
Leonard we will miss your voice. Stay safe, come home soon, and God Bless You and those with whom you serve.
Steven, I’m so sorry for you too because you’ve really run with this and kept us all informed, here and at DKos.
A couple weeks ago, some people saved all of his audio files and Web pages. We’d beter make sure that several of us do this.
I’ve saved some of the emails but I have no knowledge on how to save audio files.
and all thanks should go to you Susan for finding his blog in the first place.
Steven, I can’t find my story … search is down, and I’m going through the pages but can’t spot the story.
Anyway, someone posted in my story that he had a program to download the entire site. I thought we should try to connect with that person.
and save the link “target.” At least that’s it in Netscape 7.2 I’ve saved them if you need them.
What a well-spoken person he is! Almost makes me wish I lived in Arizona so I could vote for him when he comes home.
Down below in another post I have a link to a program that will mirror the entire blog for those that want a quick easy way to get it all at once, and in the same build that the blog is in. You will be able to browse it just like when you are online.
I have it mirrored now, so if others do it we will have it all.
You’re the person who did this before! Thanks, Splashy.
You are welcome. I hope others will do the same before it disappears or something.
He knew it was coming, he knew the policies. You might want to read this article on the Army’s rules for bloggers. I’m also sure he’s heard of Colby Buzzell (My War).
Nothing prevents him from keeping a diary/journal and publishing the information when he returns. He is in a combat zone, and I doubt the people around him feel comfortable with someone deriding the mission. He’s out of line, knows it, and is playing politics.
I’m sorry, I must have missed the part of the First Amendment that said “Congress shall make no law (…) abridging the freedom of speech (…). Unless, of course, it’s for The Mission. Army and all, by Jingo. Can’t have soldiers wondering why their asses are on the line for Uncle “Fuck You” Cheney’s retirement fund.”
I really don’t think we want to go there. Following this line of reasoning means that since we’re all in a combat zone, the government is fully justified in squelching any dissent or criticism because it undermines the mission. Sure, it may be in the policies. But just because it’s law doesn’t make it moral.
But just because it’s law doesn’t make it moral..
But it does make it law: Uniform Code of Military Justice. He has the choice of complying with the orders, or facing Court Martial. He knew that going in.
MudvilleGazette links to the MilBlogs ring – 252 military blogs – which contains more than you probably want to know about Iraq from the ground up.
Most of them don’t seem to have the same problem Clark does.
Following this line of reasoning means that since we’re all in a combat zone, the government is fully justified in squelching any dissent or criticism because it undermines the mission.
This has no bearing on civilian law. It is, as rba points out, The Uniform Code of Military Justice. There are lots of things the military is proscribed from doing, that the civilian population is not. Some of them are relics, they don’t want to let go of, like the draconian laws around homosexuality, and sex and marriage, in general. And, it is a violation for anyone identifiable as a military person to speak out politically, period.
There are actually very good reasons for this. The alternative is to potentially have a politicized military. I realize we run very close to that, with the open and assumed Republicanism of the armed forces. Technically, it’s also illegal for them to publicly endorse the Bush Administration, and believe it or not, some have been charged for this. Just as some were charged for openly denigrating Clinton when he was Commander in Chief. The military is not supposed to be openly identified with any party or ideology. They are supposed to represent us all, and remain apolitical.
Sure he’s out of line.
That’s called civil disobedience.
That’s called civil disobedience.
In this instance it’s also called a Court Martial offense. The best for him now would be a discharge under the catch-all “unfit for” clause (one step up from a BCD).
I sympathize completely with your POV. I also sympathize with his predicament … in the Nat’l Guard which is used mostly to fight forest fires and such…. and here he is, a middle-aged man with a familyl, over in Iraq.
is that when you choose it, you also choose to take the consequences of principled law-breaking. To pay the fine, to go to jail. Many people that we greatly admire spent time in jail – Gandhi, King, Mandela.
Morally speaking, it is on another plane from ignoring laws just because you don’t agree with them, and expecting no penalties for breaking them because you don’t like them.
Sometimes, people break laws because the laws themselves are destructive and immoral, e.g. segregation laws. But even then, those fighting for civil rights were willing to go to jail to make that point.
I think the parts of the military code which have the intent of keeping the military out of politics are good and necessary.
Leonard has chosen to go against the military code – and I think, from reading his posts and listening to his phone messages, that he has been well-aware of the probable consequences of his actions, but that this is the only way he sees to do his part to tell Americans the truth about what is happening in Iraq, since the media is obviously not doing its job. From which, unfortunately, most Americans still get most of their information about Iraq.
As Susan said – it is civil disobedience. I admire what he is doing. I am holding my breath waiting to see how severe the consequences of his actions will be.
I have to agree with RBA. It is unfortunate as he is one of ours but when you sign on to the military you lose certain rights.
This is actually a good policy if you think about it and it goes all the way back to Washington’s Continental Army. You can’t wear your uniform to political rallies and your political speech is severely restricted.
But there is a reason for this. Though not apparent at the enlisted and junior officer level, it becomes apparent at the general officer level that politics (and religion for that matter) and the military is a very dangerous thing. We all remember General Boykin’s censure for his wingnuttery and I imagine we all agree with it. This, in the military’s eyes, falls under the same thing.
Sadly, he’s one of ours, but it still makes me uncomfortable to have the taint of political activism in the military…as we’ve seen in Latin America, it leads to coups and fascism. I mean he’s a good guy, but what if he was a wingnut or worse. Wouldn’t you want the military to crack down on him? I hope he leaves the military and becomes a politico, he sounds like a great candidate.
I hope he continues when he returns.
It is civil disobedience but he isn’t a civilian. Technically he is “owned” by the military until his service is up and he doesn’t have the same rights that a civilian has right now. Now the message to the tired angry troops is, “Complain, and we’ll court martial you!” Sadly, they can do it too!
I must agree that soldiers do not have the same rights as free citizens for all the reasons cited in other comments. Partly this is to prevent them being round-the-clock full time propagandists; partly it is because they are not free to inform themselves, to speak out, to assemble, etc.
I wish him all the luck in the world, but political resistance from the military has to come from veterans and (perhaps??) others out of combat at least.
I don’t think so. It seems to me the politics are being played by this administration right on down to the military stooges who are allowing their soldiers to fight and die for oil profits.
These are fights that my husband and I have. I understand that there is a mission and I understand that rules need to be in place to complete missions. I also understand that a lot of these guys are depleted, drained, an illegal war, a guerilla war, troops used that are meant for war and trained for war and not schooled in the art of being a policing force in any way, shape, or form! When I read some of the comments that the NeoCons have made about “creating reality” it just makes me sick to my stomach. One thing that they completely under estimated wasn’t just Iraq, but it was also how many Americans have become Self Actualized and are fighting back. After Vietnam was outed no war will ever be the same again and people will never again be used the same way to the degree that happened in Vietnam for a very long time before people in the U.S. stand up and scream NO! At least not if I have anything to say about it!
Your position as to the Military Code of Justice is correct. Where I see you crossing the line is your accusation that he is “playing politics”. That adds nothing to the weight of your argument but does add creedence to the right wing machine’s efforts to stifle dissent by character assasination. Whether legally entitled to speak his mind or not, his willingness to get the truth out must be supported.
stifle dissent by character assasination
I don’t believe “playing politics” is character assassination. If you’ve read his letters you’ll find he has run for office in the past (more than once) and has stated his intent to be a candidate in Arizona as soon as he gets back. Unlike his previous posts, his last contributes absolutely nothing to the record of any use to those opposing the war. It’s a political rant.
…the non-violent fight against the terrorists and the tryants at home… three-piece-suited politicians and their crooked lackeys…
As far as I’m concerned he’s crossed the line between “getting the truth out” and running for office.
So on the basis of his last post, which you say is different from the others, and his intent to run for office you are comfortable impugning his character by accusing him of playing politics, which as far as I’m concerned is the same as saying he’s being dishonest.
As to his political rant, it looks and sounds to me like the truth expressed in a passionate way. You’ve taken your opinion and passed judgement on him and if his last post is the only post that looks to you like a political rant, it hardly amounts to enough evidence to attack his character or motives.
It’s an interesting game of semantics, so I’ll throw in. I don’t see why the term “playing politics” is so charged, or that it equates with dishonesty. What Clark has been doing is blatantly political on many levels, not the least of which is declaring political candidacy. Personally I think Clark is a hero for speaking out, but he knew he could face a court martial. I think he’s absolutely standing on principle, but that doesn’t make it not political. I wish more politicians did things on principle. But, he was acquainted with the UCMJ, and its prohibitions on political activity before he embarked. If you’re in uniform, you can’t participate publicly in anyone’s political campaign, least of all, your own. You also cannot speak out in a public forum against the Commander in Chief, even if that CinC is Bush. People have asked me why my husband doesn’t post to these bulletin boards and talk about his experiences in, and views on, Iraq. He doesn’t because he can’t. It’s a violation of the UCMJ.
It’s more than his last post, and I think Recordkeeper has covered (among other things) the distinction between political and getting the truth out very well.
I’ll respond to your last paragraph by saying that there are literally hundreds of ex-GIs getting the truth out (as they see it) about operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Not one that I’ve read has attempted any gain from their writings – they write because they must.
For the most part they feel compelled to write in an effort to help those of us here understand what they see, what they feel about their environment, and to document their experiences. Not to run for office, nor for any other type of personal gain.
They write in an effort to end a wrong, and by their writings – in some small way – try to prevent another war based on a series of lies.
So does the fact that he intends to run for office automatically exclude him from making judgements about what he is seeing and communicating it to us like all the others? Does that in and of itself make it playing politics? This is what I’m trying to get at. I understand that he is not permitted to do this and knows it. I understand that he should be willing to face the consequences. That is the price of civil disobedience. It’s like he has to shut his mouth because he intends to take it a step further when or if he gets home. Doesn’t everyone’s opinion about this war, pro or con have political implications too it? What makes his opinion less worthy?
Boy this is a story I sure would like to see come out into the media…big time!!!!!
Also I think we need to send this to conyers and other senators, with links to this diary and his web site…
Wish he could be called to testify before congress, should we suggest this to our Congress via all the known methods..John Kerry of this generation!!!!
Also Conyers and others working on this Iraq thing and his committee should be made aware, do you think they will notice the story on DK. Has anyone written them..
I am hoping we can push this story big time and I am going to post this diary on my blog…etc.
Could you send it to Conyers Diane? I sent emails to lots of media today. We’ll see if it did any good.
A list of email addresses of newspersons and media contacts was posted by cotterperson HERE.
Please send an email to as many of them as you can asking them to cover this story.
Thanks.
Anyone else that wants to do so should go to http://www.httrack.com/page/2/en/index.html and download WinHTtrack to mirror it too. That way you get everything, including the website build.
You sent to die for freedom.
Just not freedom of speech.
I am not trying to be a smartass or anything…this is something I truly don’t know but would find the anser interesting. Are there other military personel blogging on the “right”? Will they also be told to knock it off or face a court martial?
within the military ranks is what I have also been experiencing lately. I am a civilian though so they can’t do shit to me, and my husband when “called on it” just shrugs and plays the poor husband saddled with a “crazy” wife and THE GOOD OFFICER always makes his marriage work no matter how crazy they are. Since they can’t threaten me or take away my birthday they go rabid, they go rabid on soldiers who are playing along too and they can’t prove it and they can’t nail them but they know who is just playing the game trying to survive and find themselves a way out of this insanity.